I immediately start backing away, not by choice or strategy, but simply because my body decides to move on its own, as if it was fed up waiting for me to react and preferred to bail without inviting me to the discussion.
My legs are shaking, my claws screech against the damp rock, and in my chest, my heart is pounding like it's trying to break out of my rib cage, convinced it has better chances of survival if it runs off on its own.
What I'm feeling isn't even fear — it's worse. It's like every cell in my body just came across a being so far above our own that it could break the laws of reality just by blinking.
Some fucking ancestral signal, buried somewhere in my Oni DNA, starts screaming in every direction, one brutal, unequivocal command: "Run."
I stare into the darkness ahead of me, that deep void of the black labyrinth that seems to stretch on forever, and I feel like even the air refuses to move, like the whole world is holding its breath.
The creature still isn't moving, but I can feel it won't stay that way for long.
I grit my teeth, my throat tight, and my voice, hoarse, comes out against my will, halfway between a panicked whisper and survival sarcasm.
"System… analyze that thing…"
Come on, give me a name, a race, a weakness, a ridiculous weak point, anything, just a bit of logic in this cosmic soup, so I feel a tiny bit less like an insect staring at an erupting volcano.
[ Analysis impossible ]
… Huh? What do you mean, "impossible"?
Ever since I've been here, analyze always worked, even on some pissed-off monsters, so why now…?
[ The creature possesses an Analysis skill superior to yours ]
… Excuse me? Is this a joke?
I can't even check info if the target has higher analysis?!
That's completely stupid, what kind of hell-born trash system is this?!
And then, right in front of me, just as I'm starting to lose the little composure I have left, a massive eye opens in the darkness.
Not a normal eye. Not an animal eye.
A fucking glowing chasm, like the entire universe is watching me through some dimensional peephole.
And before I can even process what I'm looking at, someone grabs me from behind — not an attack, but a hand, strong, firm, lifting me like a sack of potatoes.
It's Gried.
Gried is carrying me.
Like a goddamn kid.
Around us, the humans in the group start running, without a word, like they know something I missed.
"What the hell were you thinking trying an analysis, you idiot?!"
Huh? Wait, what? He… he knew?
Selina turns around, eyes bloodshot with nerves, and almost screams at me.
"DAMMIT, WHEN YOU TRY TO ANALYZE A CREATURE WITH A HIGHER LEVEL, IT FEELS IT! WERE YOU TRYING TO GET ITS ATTENTION OR ARE YOU JUST CRAZY?!"
Wait a second… it felt me? Just because I activated a damn analysis?
So basically, not only does it outclass me in absolutely everything, but it can also detect when I'm simply trying to figure out what it is…?
And me, with my pathetic [Analysis LV3], I just literally knocked on a god's door, like "hey, what are you?"
What a stupid idea.
I try to protest, say something, anything, but Gried squeezes me tighter against him, like I'm about to explode any second. I hate him. I hate everyone. But I don't dare move. Because that pressure… that crushing presence, just behind me…
And suddenly, an earthquake shakes the whole corridor. Don't tell me it's approaching…
I slowly turn my head toward Gried. He looks back at me too, face tense.
"What the hell is that thing?" I whisper, barely stable.
Everyone turns to me, clearly shocked, almost petrified. Damn… what is this creature, to trigger such panic just by being mentioned?
Gried lets out a long sigh, then grips me even tighter and suddenly picks up the pace.
"That 'thing,' as you call it… it's a Taratect Queen. One of the most powerful creatures in this world."
"A Taratect Queen…" Gried repeats, without even turning his head, like he can't believe he just said it out loud.
Behind us, a deep sound echoes. Like a building being ripped from its foundation. Then a scream. No. Several. And none are human.
I half-turn, just enough to see a red glow pierce the darkness, followed by a green flash... magical, probably. A defensive spell? I don't know. But it's immediately swept away in a burst of sparks.
And then it explodes.
A massive rumble shakes the tunnel. Dust falls from the ceiling. And in the echo, you can still hear those screams... elves. Terrified. Torn apart. A real bloodbath. I feel my guts twisting.
Gried clenches his teeth and keeps walking, still holding me under his arm, like I'm some bulky but valuable object.
"That thing…" he half-spits, "it's not just a monster. It's a living relic. An aberration. One of the worst nightmares you can encounter in this fucked-up world."
Another scream, higher-pitched this time. Someone just died. Brutally. I can even hear bones snapping through the walls. I think I'm going to be sick.
"Taratects are giant spiders. Some are intelligent. Others completely insane. And the Queens…" He pauses a second, dodges a chunk of rock half-falling from the ceiling, then resumes with no emotion. "…they're at the top. They're not animals. They're strategists. Tyrants. Devourers."
And then, as if to validate his words, a deafening crash echoes behind us. A scream, then a silence so sudden it knocks the breath out of me. Nothing. Just a muffled death rattle... and the wet sound of something being torn apart.
I think even the labyrinth is holding its breath.
"Those Queens… they hate elves," Gried continues, lower now, like he's afraid she'll hear. "It's not a theory, it's not a legend. It's a fact. They hunt them, massacre them, exterminate them."
I stop myself from throwing out a "good news then," but this isn't the time.
"Why?" I ask anyway, voice too dry.
He throws me a dark look.
"I don't know. And honestly, we don't want to know."
Silence falls again.
The kind of void that crushes your chest because you know if you breathe too loud, something will notice and come rip your spine out.
We end up hiding in a half-collapsed crevice, a corner of the labyrinth where mana stagnates like dead water. No one speaks. Even the System seems pissed off, or worse: watching.
Then, suddenly, Orman's voice cuts through the air, acidic and tired:
"Goddamn… I hate Taratect Queens."
Everyone turns to him. He's leaning against a rock, staff beside him, fingers still numb from casting spells nonstop. He's staring at the ground, like he sees something else.
I watch him, curious despite myself.
"A single one wiped out half the kingdom of Ohts about thirty years ago."
Arla spits on the ground, clearly not a fan of the topic.
"That wasn't a war. That was a massacre. The kind you don't forget."
Orman slowly nods.
"Half a kingdom… reduced to dust. And even the forces sent to neutralize it were never found."
I feel a chill crawl up my spine. Not because of the info.
Because of the tone.
He's not saying it to exaggerate. He's saying it because he was there. Or someone he knew never came back.
"But why?" I ask, more to break the tension than out of real curiosity. "Why would it attack a human capital?"
Silence. Gried looks away. Selina frowns. Even Mike lowers his eyes.
Orman presses his lips together.
"We don't know. Some say it was revenge. And others think it's because of the Oni, since one Oni took control of the territory. There are even lunatics who think the system provoked it on purpose."
Wait, wait wait.
Mental rewind, cosmic playback, line reset.
An Oni took control of a territory? And that triggered a fucking Taratect Queen?!
Is that what I just heard? Not a mythical beast, not a lost dragon, an Oni.
My stomach twists weirdly. I look at my hands. My claws. My reddish skin. My demonic face. And then, my brain makes a connection I really didn't want.
Don't tell me that's why everyone's been looking at me like I'm some fusion between a nuclear golem and an S-rank demon from Solo Leveling.
I turn my head, slowly. Not too much, trying not to look paranoid.
But I see them.
Gried, tense. Orman, avoiding my gaze. Arla, with her hand just a bit too close to her quiver. Selina hasn't taken her eyes off me since we ran.
And then, it clicks.
They're scared. Not just because we survived a Queen. Not just because I look weird. But because… I'm an Oni. One of the ones who, according to their rumors, trigger cataclysms.
I hold back a nervous laugh.
"Hahaha… fuck."
I don't say it loud. Just enough for the System to hear. And even then, I'm not sure it's still listening.
What am I exactly? An anomaly? A living bomb? A botched version of an endangered race that triggers apocalypses by stepping in the wrong spot?
Or worse… Maybe I'm not "an" Oni.
Maybe I'm the one they're all waiting for. The one they think I am. Even if I have no fucking idea what that means.
I lower my eyes.
And for the first time in a long while, I don't feel like making a joke.